The Captive Prince
by TheHttydRaven
Summary: We know that when the Vanguard crashed Anduin managed avoid capture while the rest of his crew was captured by Hozen. So here's a scenario where Anduin gets captured by Hozen as well so Admiral Taylor has to keep him alive until they are rescued. :)
1. Chapter 1

**I swear I'm working on my other fics but I just started playing WoW again and I'm obsessed. I have like twenty prompts and ideas that I've written down and I want to work on all of them! Which hopefully means I'll get to my overall 100,000 word count goal before summer ends :)**

**Very new to writing WoW and memorizing the lore has never exactly been my strong suit, so hopefully I didn't get it too wrong!**

**I know nothing of arcane magic nor arcane transmitters, but let's just pretend that they can only send messages rather then acting like a two way calling thing.**

《◇》

Anduin threw himself forward, shoving his shoulder into the thick wooden door for another time before stepping back and grimacing, hissing in pain as the solid door refused to open despite his best efforts.

The door was locked, presumably by his bodyguards or Admiral Taylor at some point before the crash, and Anduin had been trying to break through it with force for the last few minutes. Without success.

The water that was currently pouring through the small hole, which was not large enough for Anduin to make it through, that had been broken through in the side of the ship had reached his ankles and was steadily rising, the cold ocean water chilling his skin and wetting his clothes as he made his way through it.

Anduin had awoken up to the sounds of the Vanguard running into rocks, presumably crashing into a shore somewhere. When the young prince had cried out in an attempt to catch the attention of Admiral Taylor or any of the many troops placed upon the ship, he had gotten no response.

They seemed to have left him, for reasons Anduin couldn't formulate.

Backing away from the door, Anduin turned to his satchel, grabbing it from its place upon his desk. Anduin rifled through the small bag, pushing beside his journal and random items before finding a small lock picking kit that had fallen to the bottom of the bag.

Curling his fingers around the small tools, Anduin grabbed the satchel and slipped its strap over his head as he hurried back across the room towards door, sloshing through the water that was now halfway to his knee. Lowering his knees into the water as to be at eye level with the lock on the door, Anduin got to work with the tools.

Anduin tried to keep his hands steady, trying to keep himself calm. He couldn't get nervous. If he jammed the doors lock or broke the tool he'd be done for, doomed to drown in the small room. Ignoring the throbbing pain originating from his aching shoulder, the one he had used to ram the locked door, Anduin carefully twisted the tool, manipulating the differing components of the doors lock, concentrating on getting the lock undone.

After a few moments of careful movements of the tool, Anduin grinned as a click was heard, and when he tried the door it slowly opened, requiring him to push against the water that was on the other side of the door.

"Alright." Anduin began to make his way out of his room, his soaked boots dragging through the heavy water as he began to seek out an answer as to why he had been abandoned, left by his bodyguards, the soldiers, and even Admiral Taylor. "Time to get out of here."

As Anduin began to walk through the hallway of the small ship, an idea struck him. Anduin turned on his heels and quickly made his way back down the slowly flooding hall. As the prince rushed to Admiral Taylors room, the water surrounding him creeped further and further up the wooden walls of the hallway.

Knowing he had a very limited amount of time until the lower levels of the ship were filled with the dark waters, Anduin quickly scrambled to the door of the room, feeling a wave of relief wash over him as he realized it wasn't unlocked. He swung the door open, letting the water in the hallway flow into the previously untouched room, the force of the flowing waters causing him to stumble, almost falling into the thigh-deep waters before throwing out a hand and grabbing onto the desk placed beside the door, pulling himself up and planting his feet.

Quickly rifling through the stacks of paper and miscellaneous items placed upon the Admiral's desk, Anduin only took a few moments, precious time nonetheless, to find the object he was looking for.

An arcane transmitter.

Anduin knew it was imperative for him to escape the ship that was slowly filling with water, but he deemed it more important to get a message to his father.

Anduin slipped the device into his satchel, before turning and making his way from the room, raising his feet higher than normal as he walked to avoid pulling his boots against the water as he made his way to the deck.

As Anduin made his way up the stairs to the deck, he paused halfway up, deciding it would be safer to remain out of sight for now rather then remain in the open, unguarded as he made his message.

Anduin took a deep breath to calm his nerves, before focusing on the matter at hand and unbuckling his satchel, pulling the device from the satchel and holding it in the palm of his hand a he used the other hand to activate the transmitter.

《◇》

King Varian furiously slammed his fist down onto the map table, jostling the many ships placed upon it.

"Two hundred ships at my disposal, and yet the one carrying my son goes missing!" He shouted, anger and worry for his only child clear in his distressed voice.

"We've already dispatched the Seventh Legion, but it could take weeks befor-" The SI:7 agent started to explain, her voice soft and calm, almost as if she was attempting to calm the furious king.

"Enough! Show me of their last message, Nightwind." Varian interrupted the woman as he turned to look at the silent Night Elf standing to his other side.

The Night Elf nodded, walking with the silent grace his race carried, using the arcane transmitter to summon the last message that had been sent by the arcane transmitter.

The three gathered humans watched as Admiral Taylor took shape, his form tinted a slight blue by the magic of the transmitter.

Taylor's face displayed a clear sense of wariness, the man continually glancing behind himself as the sound of gunfire and cries could be heard from the background of the message.

"We have been drawn off course-" The message cut out, skipping to a different part. "Horde airfleet- Many casualties. We are sailing due north in an attempt to find the remaining fleet, but I fear be are lost. The White Pawn is accounted for." Varian let out a relieved sigh, the quiet noise being drowned out by the rest of Admiral Taylor's words. "The White Pawn is safe for now! If anyone from the Alliance gets this, send immediate assis-" Admiral Taylor looked behind himself again, his expression one of concern, and he was thrown off balance. A loud explosion was heard, visibly rocking the ship as the transmitter cut off, leaving the room silent.

Varian's concern for his son, and his men, grew. His son, his young defenseless son was in danger - is currently in danger.

Rell Nightwind turned back to him, the face of the well trained SI:7 agent stoic his back straighted as the Night Elf stood tall.

"The Seventh Legion won't get there fast enough. We will send a small, elite force to chart a course to this island," The King turned back to them, a fierce glint shining in his blie eyes. "and bring back my son ."

The SI:7 agents nodded, saluting their king with respect, before turning to exit the room. Varian watched them go, eyes narrowing with curiosity and suspicious as Nightwind paused, the elf's head turning to glance back at the transmitter, which as Varian turned to examine the source of the elf's interest, was glowing brighter then it usually did.

"My King, another message has been sent. Shall I-" Nightwind gestured to the device, the SI:7 agents turning and stepping back towards Varian.

"Yes, let us see if it is Admiral Taylor or the men. Possibly one of the troops on the ship managed to access the transmitter." Varian nodded, seemingly relaxed on the outside, but on the inside his heart ached, the man pleading for any sign that his son was safe.

Nightwind activated the device, before stepping back. A form began to take shape in the device, the details sharpening to reveal-

"Anduin," Varian breathed the name of his son, feeling as if a heavy weight had been lifted from his shoulders as his son

"I am Prince Anduin, of the Alliance. Our ship, the Vanguard, has run ashore after a battle with Horde ships. Admiral Taylor bade me to stay in the hold until the fighting ceased. But when it did, we had barely a day to heal our wounded or gather ourselves until the ship ran aground."

Anduin sighed, raising a hand and running it through his blonde hair. "I had awoken to the sounds of the crash, but upon reaching the door of my cabin I had found it locked. There was nothing I could do but call out, but I got no response. After lockpicking the door and making my way out, I've realized I am alone. The Vanguard has washed up on an unfamiliar shore. The ship is still, and all around me, I hear silence. I fear something has happened to the crew, to Admiral Taylor. Something terrible. The ship has filled with water, it has almost reached me as I am making this message. If any member Alliance receives this message, know that I, Prince Anduin Wrynn, am alive. I am going to travel inland and search for food and aid."

Anduin paused and went still, before closing his eyes as he took in a breath, opening them as his bright eyes glinted with courage. "Please tell my father that I am wel-"

The prince's statement was cut off as the ship visibly shook, before the transmitter fell, hitting the floor as the cabin shook. Anduin was visible through the tilted view of the transmitter, the prince sliding along the stairs as the ship seemingly tilted onto it's side.

Anduin reached out, seemingly trying to grab ahold of the railing that was now beside him, but the ship creaked as it tilted even more. Anduin scrambled to try to grab a handhold, but it was of no use.

The prince's eyes widened as his legs slid off the top of the stairwell wall, dangling over the now vertically oriented deck. The arcane transmitter also slid across the wood, falling over the edge of the stairwell, showing Anduin as the prince let go, falling down the deck.

"Anduin!" Varian tightened his grip upon the edge of the war table, his knuckles whitening as he stared unblinking, as his son plummeted.

The transmitter hit the railing alongside the edge of the ship, but Anduin's golden haired head audibly slammed into the wood of the railing, the boy letting out a surprised and pained gasp before his eyes slid shut, and his limp body slipped into the water. Unconscious.

The arcane transmitter kept on playing, but there was no movement beside the slight rocking of the settling ship and the soft waves of the dark waters that Anduin had fallen into.

Varian stared in shock, before sighing heavily, straightening before making his way to leave the throne room, calling over his shoulder to the pair of SI:7 agents.

"Gather that team. You will leave as soon as possible. The Alliance will not rest till they find my son! Alive or-" Varian cut himself off, hand tightening into a fist as he walked away and out of sight.

《◇》

**I hope you enjoyed the first chapter :)**

_-Ren_


	2. Chapter 2

As Anduin slowly gained awareness, he became aware of the soft sounds of waves lapping against sand, the shrill calls of gulls originating from overhead him.

As the prince quickly breathed in, he got a strong scent of the ocean along with inhaling a fair amount of sand, which caused him to open his parched lips to cough only causing more fine grains of sand to enter his dry mouth, gritting against his teeth as the young boy grimaced.

Anduin was lying face down in the sand, his golden hair plastered against his cold, wet skin. He could tell that half of his body was lying in the water, the very cold water that was lapping against the sand of the shore, while his upper chest and head were lying on slightly drier sand, above the water level.

_How did he get there?_

Anduin couldn't remember much, only that he had been making a message with the arcane transmitter when the ship had tilted, for some unknown reason, and he had fallen into the water.

_He could only pray that his message had been received. If __not__..._

Before Anduin could attempt to push himself up, or move in any way, he felt hands land upon him, the prince jolting in surprise as he was rolled over, his golden hair, damp from the water, falling into his eyes as he was moved.

Anduin let out an involuntary moan as the world turned around him, the unexpected movement not helping his already pounding headache. The prince strained to keep his heavy eyelids open as he stared up at the darkening dusk sky, but his eyelids slowly slid shut, Anduin unable to stop it as his body felt heavier and heavier as his grasp on consciousness grew weaker and weaker.

Anduin could hear strange noises above him, almost as if someone was speaking, but in a language he didn't know, before a hand wrapped around his lower leg and he started to be dragged through the sand, his clothes and hair being pulled as they were dragged against the damp ground.

He tried to open his eyes, kick out or make a noise, anything that could prevent him being taken, but he couldn't muster the strength required to do so. Anduins last thought before he slipped into the welcoming arms of unconsciousness was a desperate plea that someone, anyone, had gotten his message.

《◇》

Admiral Taylor groaned as he propped his bruised body against the side of his pen, tired eyes observing the camp that he and his men had been taken to.

The fish-man next to him, apparently of a race named 'Jinyu', had made few comments when Admiral Taylor had awoken, only introducing himself and explaining that they had been taken captive by Hozen, a race of seemingly "intelligent" monkey-like Jinyu had also helpfully informed Taylor that the land they had ended up on was the land of Pandaria, a place Taylor was sure he had never heard of before.

As Taylor scanned the camp, he began to take count of the captured men and women that had been taken by the Hozen, making a tally in his mind of how many soldiers had been lost.

From his vantage point, Taylor could count eleven men and women placed in various cages and pens throughout the Hozen camp. There had been twenty-one soldiers on the ship counting himself. Only three had been lost in the fight against the Horde, so Taylor had to assume that six had died in the crash, either from drowning or being taken by some other strange creature from this strange foreign land.

And the prince.

Admiral Taylor hadn't seen any sign of Prince Anduin since he had awoken, a fact which worried him immensely. His job was to keep the prince alive and safe, and he had failed the latter, and possibly the former if he didn't find the young man soon.

Before Admiral Taylor could focus on theorizing what could've happened to the prince, he heard a commotion originating from the entrance of the Hozen camp. The Admiral looked up to see a large group of Hozen approaching, seemingly crowding around the leader of the group who was dragging something behind him, the object hidden by the constantly moving crowd which surrounded the Hozen and its prize.

As the crowd of jeering and clamoring Hozen approached, the leader used his free hand to point at Admiral Taylor before gesturing back to the item in its grasp.

Before Admiral Taylor could move to prepare himself, the Hozen turned and tossed the thing at him, the form thudding into the dirt at Admiral Taylor's feet.

It was a human.

Admiral Taylor took in a sharp breath as he looked at the limp form before him. He recognized the rich blue cape, now muddied and torn, that was still draped over the boys shoulder, and his wet golden-blonde hair was a dead giveaway to his identity.

This was Prince Anduin.

"Anduin!" Taylor let out a curse while dropping to his knees as he reached out, grasping the young boy's shoulder and rolling him towards him, Anduin's head limply rolling to face the Admiral.

Taylor took in his slack face, a sluggishly bleeding cut upon his forehead, crusty blood standing out from his pale skin around his nose and mouth, his eyes shut and mouth slack.

Praying to the Light and every god he had ever heard of, Taylor lowered himself and pressed his ear against the boy's still chest, listening for any sign of a heartbeat.

As he heard the reassuring sounds of a heart beating in the young boys chest, Taylor let out a sigh of relief, and sat back on his feet, continuing his examination of the young prince.

His clothes were ripped, most likely due to being drug through the rocky ground by the Hozen. The previously white tunic he had been wearing was now dirtied and his reddened and scratched skin was visible through the many rips of the item of clothing. Admiral Taylor knew that he had been wearing an Alliance tabard, but there was no sign of it, leading Taylor to presume that it had been torn off somewhere along the way to the Hozen camp.

The boys satchel was gone as well, but that would make sense as the Hozen had taken all of the soldiers items as well, taking their armor, weapons and any satchels or bags that they had upon their person.

Admiral Taylor sighed as he settled for kneeling beside Anduin's head, arranging the teens limbs into a more comfortable position before sitting back, knowing there was nothing more he could do for the unresponsive boy.

"The Alliance better get here soon..." Taylor murmured, before shaking his head and dragging a hand over his tired face. "King Varian is going to kill us for letting this happen."

《◇》

Varian was going to _kill _Admiral Taylor when he saw the man again.

He had entrusted his son to the man, for a simple sea voyage and they had managed to get in a firefight with the Horde, crash their way onto an undiscovered land and _then_ get taken, leaving Anduin defenseless and on his own.

When Varian got Anduin back he was going to lock that boy in the keep until he was old and grey, or until he was competent with self defense. Meaning the former would probably be the quicker route.

"Sir!"

Varian looked up as an SI:7 agent knocked upon his open door, a collection of papers, seemingly a report of some type, clutched in his gloved fist.

"We found the location of the foreign island the Vanguard crashed upon. A group of SI:7 agents are setting out today to find and rescue the White Pawn." The agent explained, holding the report out for Varian to take.

Varian nodded at the agent as he took the report, quickly flipping through the pages as he skimmed the information, before clearing his throat and looking back up at the awaiting agent.

"I shall be going with. I shall be at the docks within the hour." Varian handed back the papers and stood up, gathering the miscellaneous papers and writing utensils that were scattered across his desk.

"But my king-" The agent stammered, looking as if they were unsure whether to oppose their king or not.

"There is no argument." Varian held up his hand as he motioned for the man to be silent. "I am going to find my son."

《◇》

Wow this chapter is gross and was hard to write.

This isn't going to be a longfic, so I'm probably gonna have the reunion happen in the next chapter or the one after the next.

\- R


End file.
